The present invention relates to an evaporative cooling apparatus and, more particularly, to a portable evaporative cooling apparatus that includes a standard water cooler and an adapter for mounting the cooling apparatus to the water cooler.
Evaporative coolers are used in a variety of settings including factories, warehouses, workshops and agricultural structures, as well as automobiles, homes, offices, trailers and at the sidelines of sporting events. Evaporative cooling improves workplace productivity by keeping workers cool in the workplace which, in turn, reduces heat-related illness and employee turn-over, particularly in the summer months and/or in hotter climates. It also improves performance of sports players by keeping players cool or preventing heat exhaustion in sports that demand extended periods of physical exertion.
Evaporative coolers require minimal parts and are relatively simple to manufacture and maintain, making them an attractive alternative to conventional air conditioning and mechanical refrigeration systems. Because of their simple construction, the cost of acquiring and operating evaporative coolers is considerably lower than that of conventional air conditioning systems. Moreover, evaporative coolers are especially useful in outside environments, whether open, such as an athletic field, or enclosed, for example, a factory or the like, whereas refrigeration systems in such environments are comparatively inefficient, if not impractical. Evaporative coolers are also economical since they use minimal amounts of energy and environmentally safe since they have no CFCs or HCFCs.
The versatility and other advantages of evaporative coolers have caused manufacturers to explore ways of making them more attractive to a wider range of consumers. One way of doing this is by making evaporative coolers more portable. Heretofore, attempts at improving portability have included, for example, reducing the size of and combining the components of the evaporative cooler into a smaller and more compact system. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,769,620, which is illustrative of a typical portable evaporative cooler. Other attempts have included self-containing certain portions of the evaporative cooler, for example, by providing a water source that is remote from, or a separate component of, the evaporative cooler.
Yet another attempt to provide a portable evaporative cooling system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,371 entitled, xe2x80x9cMethod and Apparatus for Misting Vehicle Occupants.xe2x80x9d The xe2x80x2371 patent integrates an evaporative cooling system into a golf cart having the fluid reservoir and other components integrated within the golf cart body. A disadvantage of the system disclosed in the xe2x80x2371 patent is the use of an accumulator system and accompanying solenoid valve. The accumulator is a device which traps air to store energy for supplying water under a substantially constant pressure. The accumulator therefore is implemented to reduce the pulsing of fluid to the mist nozzles caused by the pump. The inclusion of an accumulator and accompanying solenoid further increases the cost and complexity of the system and provides a potential reliability problem since the accumulator reservoir is often an inflatable diaphragm which may puncture or leak during the rugged operation of the golf cart. Alternatively, the accumulator reservoir is a rigid tank which disadvantageously increases the size of the system, making it difficult to incorporate the system into various types or vehicles or applications.
The present invention provides a portable evaporative cooling system comprising a fan section and a base section. The fan section provides cooled air and the base section permits the fan section to be installed in or onto a variety of different size conventional water and/or food coolers.
According to one aspect of the invention, a portable evaporative cooling apparatus for retrofitting with a water cooler is provided. The cooling apparatus is characterized by a fan for generating a path of air, a spraying system for dispersing water in the path of air generated by the fan for evaporation thereof, and a universal support structure for supporting the fan and spraying system, the support structure being sized and dimensioned to cooperatively engage the water cooler.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the support structure is sized and dimensioned to cooperatively engage an opening in the water cooler. As preferred, the support structure includes a housing and a base portion disposed below the housing, the housing supporting the fan and the base portion being sized and dimensioned to cooperatively engage the water cooler. Still more preferably, the base portion includes a plug shape portion, at least a portion of which fits into an opening of the water cooler. In particular, the plug shape portion may comprise an inverted frustoconical shape portion that is adapted to fit into a round shape opening of the water cooler.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the base portion includes a shoulder that rests on a perimeter of an opening of the water cooler.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the spraying system includes a water pump in fluid communication with the water cooler for drawing water therefrom. Preferably, the spraying system includes one or more misting nozzles disposed downstream of the fan and in the path of air generated therefrom.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the cooling system includes a pump which provides fluid to the one or more nozzles in a substantially non-pulsating manner. Therefore the present invention eliminates the need for an accumulator and solenoid, thus greatly simplifying and reducing the cost of the system over the prior art. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pump operates in a substantially non-pulsating mode by use of a bypass valve associated with the pump. The bypass valve operates to pass fluid from the pump inlet to the pump outlet when the outlet pressure increases above a predetermined level, thus maintaining the outlet fluid pressure relatively constant.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the spraying system includes a manifold and one or more nozzles extending therefrom, wherein the manifold and nozzles are attached to a radially extending support structure to permit radial adjustment thereof. Preferably, there are a plurality of nozzles and the plurality of nozzles are equally spaced relative to a cross sectional area defined by the path of air generated by the fan. The manifold preferably conveys the water in equal amounts to the nozzles.
According to another aspect of the invention, a portable evaporative cooling apparatus for retrofitting with any of a variety of different size water coolers is provided. The cooling apparatus is characterized by a fan for generating a path of air and a plurality of misting nozzles disposed downstream of the fan for dispersing water in the path of air generated from the fan for evaporating the water. A housing supports the fan and plurality of nozzles. A water pump pumps water from the water cooler to the plurality of nozzles. A universal base portion supports the water pump. The base portion is disposed below and connected to the housing and is sized and dimensioned to cooperatively engage any of the variety of different size water coolers.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, a portable evaporative cooling system is provided. The cooling system is characterized by a water cooler having an opening and means for providing cooling. The cooling means is operative to draw water from the water cooler. A plug is adapted to fit into the opening of the cooler and connect the cooling means thereto.
The present invention provides several advantages over known portable cooling apparatuses. The cooling apparatus of the present invention is universally usable with a variety of different sized water coolers. The cooling apparatus is separate from the water cooler and, therefore, simplifies transportation of the components by allowing them to be transported separately. Because of its universality, the cooling apparatus of the present invention may be used in a variety of applications and environments, including both indoor and outdoor settings, to achieve convenient and easy-to-set-up cooling.
Although the invention is shown and described with respect to one or more preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that equivalents and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of the specification. The present invention includes all such equivalents and modifications.